1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to a method of controlling an image forming apparatus and, more particularly, to a method of controlling an image forming apparatus by automatically renewing control information according to replacement of consumption parts with new consumption parts.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus, such as a printer, a copier, and a facsimile machine, is generally designed such that various parts and/or units are assembled into a single case. Each of the parts and/or units can be individually and separately removed from the apparatus. For example, a printer that employs a type of electronic picture development is generally assembled to include various parts and/or units, such as a photoconductive drum, a toner cartridge, and a development roller, each of which can be individually and separately removed from the printer. When the parts and/or units in the printer are worn out, they can be replaced with new parts and/or units. Such parts and/or units are commonly referred to as “consumption parts,” which are parts that can be individually and separately replaced with new parts in the image forming apparatus when they are worn out.
An image forming apparatus that includes consumption parts individually separatable therefrom contains specification information for each of the consumption parts and operates based on control information corresponding to such specification information currently stored in the apparatus. Accordingly, when a worn-out consumption part in an image forming apparatus is replaced with new consumption part, and a printing operation is performed base on the specification information of the old consumption part, it is difficult for the apparatus to provide a high quality image. In particular, specification information of the old consumption part and specification information of the new consumption part are not compatible and are different from each other.
The specification information of consumption parts may include, for example, the manufacturer's logo, the number of such parts used in an apparatus, and the date of manufacture, and may be stored in memories of the consumption parts. By updating the specification information of consumption parts used in an image forming apparatus, the life of each consumption part can be estimated in order to replace worn-out consumption parts with new consumption parts.
A manufacturer of an image forming apparatus may continually provide a user with many kinds of consumption parts so that a user can replace old consumption parts with new consumption parts, as needed.
Generally, life of an image forming apparatus reaches more than 10 years. However, during the use of consumption parts, their manufacture(s) can cease to exist for various reasons, such as a depressed market, a manufacture's intent, etc. Accordingly, it is not easy for a user to continually secure consumption parts that may be indispensable to operating the user's own image forming apparatus, or even parts compatible with such consumption parts. For example, a user who intends to continually use his apparatus for more than 10 years may incur an additional cost to secure sufficient stocks of consumption parts for an image forming apparatus in anticipation of a manufacturer ceasing to exist.
In addition, it is problematic for a manufacturer to manage consumption parts by classifying them according to the model(s) of a corresponding printer(s) for a multitude of venders of the parts, costing the manufacturer a great deal of expenses.